The role of eye movements, attention, and hand movements on age-related differences in pegboard tests

Walters, Brittany Heintz; Huddleston, Wendy E.; O’Connor, Kristian M.; Wang, Jinsung; Bement, Marie Hoeger; Keenan, Kevin G.

doi:10.1152/jn.00629.2020

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Given that aging is a complex process, many factors contribute to a general decline in motor functions. They include the physiological reduction in muscle mass (Soyuer et al, 2023), reduced coordination or neuromuscular impairments (Carson, 2018; Clark, 2019), as well as changes in sensory, visual, and attention capabilities (Heintz Walters et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age- and sex-related changes in motor functions: A Comprehensive Assessment and Component Analysis

Wunderle,

Kuzu,

Tscherpel

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Age-related motor impairments often cause caregiver dependency or even hospitalization. However, comprehensive investigations of the different motor abilities and the changes thereof across the adult lifespan remain sparse. We, therefore, extensively assessed essential basic and complex motor functions in 444 healthy adults covering a wide age range (range 21 to 88 years). Basic motor functions, here defined as simple isolated single or repetitive movements in one direction, were assessed by means of maximum grip strength (GS) and maximum finger-tapping frequency (FTF). Complex motor functions, comprising composite sequential movements involving both proximal and distal joints/muscle groups, were evaluated with the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTT), and the Purdue Pegboard Test. Men achieved higher scores than women concerning GS and FTF, whereas women stacked more pins per time than men during the Purdue Pegboard Test. There was no significant sex effect regarding JTT. We observed a significant but task-specific reduction of basic and complex motor performance scores across the adult lifespan. Linear regression analyses significantly predicted the participants' ages based on motor performance scores (R2 = .502). Of note, the ratio between the left- and right-hand performance remained stable across ages for all tests. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed three motor components across all tests that represented dexterity, force, and speed. These components were consistently present in young (21 - 40 years), middle-aged (41 - 60 years), and older (61 - 88 years) adults, as well as in women and men. Based on the three motor components, K-means clustering analysis differentiated high- and low-performing participants across the adult life span. The rich motor data set of 444 healthy participants revealed age- and sex-dependent changes in essential basic and complex motor functions. Notably, the comprehensive assessment allowed for generating robust motor components across the adult lifespan. Our data may serve as a reference for future studies of healthy subjects and patients with motor deficits. Moreover, these findings emphasize the importance of comprehensively assessing different motor functions, including dexterity, force, and speed, to characterize human motor abilities and their age-related decline.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age- and sex-related changes in motor functions: A Comprehensive Assessment and Component Analysis

Wunderle,

Kuzu,

Tscherpel

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Given that aging is a complex process, many factors contribute to a general decline in motor functions. They include the physiological reduction in muscle mass ( Soyuer et al, 2023 ), reduced coordination or neuromuscular impairments ( Carson, 2018 ; Clark, 2019 ), as well as changes in sensory, visual, and attention capabilities ( Heintz Walters et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age- and sex-related changes in motor functions: a comprehensive assessment and component analysis

Wunderle,

Kuzu,

Tscherpel

et al. 2024

Front. Aging Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Age-related motor impairments often cause caregiver dependency or even hospitalization. However, comprehensive investigations of the different motor abilities and the changes thereof across the adult lifespan remain sparse. We, therefore, extensively assessed essential basic and complex motor functions in 444 healthy adults covering a wide age range (range 21 to 88 years). Basic motor functions, here defined as simple isolated single or repetitive movements in one direction, were assessed by means of maximum grip strength (GS) and maximum finger-tapping frequency (FTF). Complex motor functions, comprising composite sequential movements involving both proximal and distal joints/muscle groups, were evaluated with the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTT), and the Purdue Pegboard Test. Men achieved higher scores than women concerning GS and FTF, whereas women stacked more pins per time than men during the Purdue Pegboard Test. There was no significant sex effect regarding JTT. We observed a significant but task-specific reduction of basic and complex motor performance scores across the adult lifespan. Linear regression analyses significantly predicted the participants’ ages based on motor performance scores (R2 = 0.502). Of note, the ratio between the left- and right-hand performance remained stable across ages for all tests. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed three motor components across all tests that represented dexterity, force, and speed. These components were consistently present in young (21–40 years), middle-aged (41–60 years), and older (61–88 years) adults, as well as in women and men. Based on the three motor components, K-means clustering analysis differentiated high- and low-performing participants across the adult life span. The rich motor data set of 444 healthy participants revealed age- and sex-dependent changes in essential basic and complex motor functions. Notably, the comprehensive assessment allowed for generating robust motor components across the adult lifespan. Our data may serve as a reference for future studies of healthy subjects and patients with motor deficits. Moreover, these findings emphasize the importance of comprehensively assessing different motor functions, including dexterity, force, and speed, to characterize human motor abilities and their age-related decline.

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“…The progressive effects of these correlated changes can also interact and compound, leading to more complex design challenges. For example, a recent eye‐tracking study of older adults observed Age‐associated changes in eye movement correlated with reduced manual dexterity [HWHO*21]. These observations complicate some traditional interaction paradigms, such as pinch‐to‐zoom: the people for whom zooming would serve as an adaptive strategy may have difficulty performing the physical gesture required to access it.…”

Section: Adjacent Areas Of Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

GerontoVis: Data Visualization at the Confluence of Aging

While,

Crouser,

Sarvghad

2024

Computer Graphics Forum

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Despite the explosive growth of the aging population worldwide, older adults have been largely overlooked by visualization research. This paper is a critical reflection on the underrepresentation of older adults in visualization research. We discuss why investigating visualization at the intersection of aging matters, why older adults may have been omitted from sample populations in visualization research, how aging may affect visualization use, and how this differs from traditional accessibility research. To encourage further discussion and novel scholarship in this area, we introduce GerontoVis, a term which encapsulates research and practice of data visualization design that primarily focuses on older adults. By introducing this new subfield of visualization research, we hope to shine a spotlight on this growing user population and stimulate innovation toward the development of aging‐aware visualization tools. We offer a birds‐eye view of the GerontoVis landscape, explore some of its unique challenges, and identify promising areas for future research.

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The role of eye movements, attention, and hand movements on age-related differences in pegboard tests

Cited by 10 publications

References 56 publications

Age- and sex-related changes in motor functions: A Comprehensive Assessment and Component Analysis

Age- and sex-related changes in motor functions: A Comprehensive Assessment and Component Analysis

Age- and sex-related changes in motor functions: a comprehensive assessment and component analysis

GerontoVis: Data Visualization at the Confluence of Aging

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